<div>Looking as if it just stepped out of the boardroom, the BlackBerry Passport may be all businessy, but it’s also a startlingly unusual device. It’s what you would get if you took an old style BlackBerry and turned it into a phablet, giving it a big fat screen and keeping the clicky keys — all in an almost-square passport-sized form factor, merging both worlds into a device that’s really one of a kind.<br /><br />The keyboard, for those who will never get over their love for physical keys, is very interesting. It’s made up of those familiar BB buttons that you have to press down on quite firmly and at the same time, it’s touch-sensitive because of a capacitive layer. That means you can swipe and scroll by lightly touching the keyboard; but can also use the keys to input text. The keyboard has the full alphabet, but numbers and symbols appear on a context sensitive touch row on top. The odd thing is you have to keep switching from screen-touch to physical key-press. Die hard BB users will be happy to see the physical keyboard but will have some relearning to do as this isn’t quite the typical BB keyboard any more, including inter-key spacing and shortcuts. Incidentally, there are about 200 useful shortcuts built into the system.<br /><br />When typing on the Passport, which you have to do two-handed as the device is exceptionally wide, the device feels a little top heavy as it’s quite chunky and solid. <br /><br />The ergonomics of this phone are quite tricky and will take getting used to. It may be a bit too wide and large for women and will tire out smaller hands like my own. It also has a masculine look about it. I did test it out with the pockets of many men around and they didn’t have a problem with its fit. I also took the Passport around to show it to people. Reactions were clearly divided between enthusiastic, admiring BlackBerry users, and users of other phones who couldn’t quite get their heads around it.<br /><br />To get to the upper part of this phone, the screen is really very nice: comfortable, easy to read on, specially through its reading mode. The width helps see more of a webpage. It’ll also bring more of a spreadsheet into view, which should be nice for the professional at whom the Passport is targeted. The camera on the Passport is one of the best on smartphones, especially in low-light conditions. The front camera does well for all the video chats you might want to do in the course of your work.<br /><br />The modernised version of BB’s operating system is all about swipes to get to different functions. There’s the BlackBerry Hub, the home of all communication, where email, messages, and social networking all collect. That’s a convenience that remains the same and one of the primary reasons BB users like BlackBerry devices so much. Swiping right to left gets you apps, including two app stores —BlackBerry’s and Amazon’s, where you can get many Android apps. Another feature meant specifically for professionals is BlackBerry Blend, which lets you connect to other devices and use their screens without compromising any data on the Passport.<br /> <br />The specs on this smartphone are all top notch. Couple that with solid hardware and many unique features, and BlackBerry feels entirely justified in setting an MRP of Rs 49,990, with about Rs 10,000 worth of freebies on Amazon and Jet privileges. <br /> </div><table cellspacing="6" cellpadding="6" width="600" border="2"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Bose Sound Link Colour</strong></td></tr><tr><td><img width="200" height="200" align="right" src="/image/image_gallery?uuid=6fefed86-7616-4f1f-828a-b2c563b04885&groupId=222861&t=1413290827778" alt="" />Small size, big sound. Bose has long perfected that formula. And they do it again with an addition to the SoundLink portable Bluetooth series of speakers. This time, it's in colour, and much more affordable at Rs 11,138. <br /><br />The SoundLink's footprint actually fits across your palm. Standing up, it's well... shorter than the TataSky remote and an average tall glass on my table. The size is perfect for traveling about with, and is especially nice for personal listening — not when you want to make a room's walls vibrate with sound, but when you want just enough to tone down the outside world a bit and lose yourself in music without annoying your neighbours. <br /><br />Setting up the SoundLink is a matter of minutes. A voice guides you as soon as you switch on the speaker. In the box, you'll find various varieties of plugs. Why so many, and no 3.5mm cable, I don't know. Connect it to power to top up the battery, and pair with your device. My fussy iPad Bluetooth connected in a second and before you knew it, I had music flowing. All the controls for these speakers are in a row on top. It couldn't be simpler — power on/off Bluetooth connect, Aux, Play/Pause and Volume up/down. No treble or bass or any other adjustments. All that will have to be from the playback device. <br /><br />Sound is wide spectrum, clean, balanced and full. This isn't for our fellow countrymen who stop next to you at traffic lights with cars practically bouncing off the road with thumping sound. This little speaker gives you quieter but higher quality sound. It charges via micro-USB and battery lasts you upto eight hours.<br /> <br />Bose has obviously launched this one in a variety of colours, mint and red being particularly pretty, to make for a good Diwali gift.<br /><br /> </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br />(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 03-11-2014)</div>
BW Reporters
Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.
